After Siege at N.M. Prisons, AFSCME Puts Officials on Notice
A private prison staff member was killed Aug. 31 during a prison uprising at the Guadalupe County Correctional Facility, a medium-security facility near Albuquerque operated by Wackenhut Corrections Corporation. This death is just one in a list of tragedies that have occurred within the walls of New Mexico’s growing number of private correctional facilities.
An inmate was stabbed and several others also were injured during the melee. Prisoners allegedly involved in the killing were transferred to a maximum-security area in a New Mexico state prison. The 109 other inmates involved in the riot were sent to a super-maximum security prison in Stone Gap, Va.
A prisoner was killed Aug. 22 at the Guadalupe facility when an inmate pounded him with a laundry bag full of rocks. On Sept. 5, four inmates, including two Albuquerque murder suspects, escaped from another privately run jail — Correctional Services Corporation — in Gallup, N.M. More than 150 inmates rioted April 6 at another private prison operated by Wackenhut near Hobbs, N.M., where 13 staffers were injured.
The incidents have sent shock waves throughout the New Mexico community, prompting AFSCME, the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association, politicians and government officials to stand united during a press conference Sept. 16 against the proliferation of private prisons in New Mexico.
“At this point, it appears that prison privatization has been a disaster for this state,” said State Rep. Mimi Stewart (D), adding her voice to the call for an independent investigation of privatized prisons in New Mexico. “The recent rash of disturbances and deaths at private correction facilities has created a public crisis of confidence that can only be addressed by a fully independent inquiry into the management of privatized prisons.”
“We are looking for more in-depth and comprehensive monitoring of the for-profit prison facilities. Also, there has to be an increase in public prison construction so the state will not be faced with a crisis when it comes to prison space,” said John LaBombard, senior council representative for AFSCME Council 18. “In pursuit of high profits, private prison firms cut corners when it comes to CO training and inmate-to-CO ratios. This practice guarantees two things: big payoffs for stockholders and big risks for the general public.”
The day following the AFSCME-coordinated press conference, New Mexico’s prisons’ chief, attorney general and legislators agreed to conduct an independent inquiry into the state’s woeful prison system.
New Mexico State Senate Pres. Manny Aragon recently gave up his retainer to represent Wackenhut legally, even though he denies a conflict of interest. The state’s top Democrat and a powerful member of the legislature, Aragon is a key figure in making decisions that affect the privatization of prisons in New Mexico.
